Keep the ball rolling, plan for more sports

Wednesday

Mar 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

The Davidson County Board of Education took an important step toward offering a more well-rounded program in its middle schools with Monday's decision to add baseball and volleyball. But that needs to be the beginning to offer more sports options, not the end. The middle schools will still only provide three sports for boys — baseball, basketball and football — and three for girls — basketball, softball and volleyball. That number pales in comparison to what surrounding systems offer.

The Davidson County Board of Education took an important step toward offering a more well-rounded program in its middle schools with Monday's decision to add baseball and volleyball. But that needs to be the beginning to offer more sports options, not the end. The middle schools will still only provide three sports for boys — baseball, basketball and football — and three for girls — basketball, softball and volleyball. That number pales in comparison to what surrounding systems offer.The Dispatch editorialized two months ago that the school system should consider other sports like soccer, tennis or track first, since baseball and volleyball programs were already in place, although not offered through the school system. But the rationale to add those sports is understandable. Much of the infrastructure is already in place, although some schools will have to make an investment in facilities. Baseball and volleyball have support in the community from parents and others who have financially supported the program and also served as coaches and in other roles.That financial piece will be a hurdle to overcome in adding future sports. The total estimated cost to add baseball and volleyball is $172,113. That covers the cost for uniforms, coaching supplements, transportation, facilities and more. A soccer team would have a similar number of players as baseball; tennis would be similar to volleyball; track could potentially see a large number of students participate. If push comes to shove, academics must certainly receive priority on funding. And the school system's top priority remains construction of a new high school in northern Davidson County, which comes with a price tag of about $45 million.Yet the financial challenges shouldn't delay planning for the addition of future sports. Much like they did with baseball and volleyball, administrators and supporters can start running the numbers to add more sports. It may require phasing them in, and it may take several years, but a worthy goal would be for the middle school offerings to eventually match what's available in high schools.Adding sports can be a point of contention. An unusual public disagreement between some board members and administrators became public Monday when member Alan Beck voiced some criticism for chairwoman Carol Crouse and superintendent Dr. Fred Mock over what he perceived as a lack of support for the additional sports. But a disagreement over middle school sports shouldn't stop the planning for the next additions. Students benefit in multiple ways from playing sports, and grades can actually see an increase, too. So Davidson County Schools needs to offer its middle-school students those opportunities as soon as possible.